? Box score
LAKE CHARLES, La. ? Outside hitter led a balanced offensive effort with a match-high 14 kills and McNeese State swept UTSA on Friday night at Memorial Gym (30-25, 30-24, 30-22).
The Cowgirls won for the 10th time in their last dozen matches to improve to 18-13 overall and 10-5 in Southland Conference play, while the Roadrunners saw their season mark drop to 13-19 overall and 5-10 in league contests. However, UTSA clinched a berth in next week's SLC Tournament, which will be played at the Convocation Center, when Texas A&M-Corpus Christi was swept by Lamar earlier in the night.
The match started out as a slugfest, as game one featured 18 ties and nine lead changes. After UTSA tied the frame at 22, McNeese State scored eight of the final 11 points to claim the five-point victory. The Cowgirls then used 13-4 run to close out the second stanza and take a commanding 2-0 advantage into the break. It was all McNeese State in the third and deciding game and they ran off to an eight-point triumph to send the Roadrunners to their 15th three-game loss of the year.
Junior middle hitter Victoria Prior led UTSA with 12 kills, a pair of service aces and four total blocks (2 solo/2 assists). Meanwhile, freshman outside hitter Kendra Rowland recorded 11 kills and junior setter Rebecca Hrapmann collected a team-high 15 digs.
Outside hitter Alyson Jones and middle blocker Lindsay Petzold racked up nine winners apiece for McNeese State and middle blocker Jennifer Cook added eight. Setter Sarah Cartie handed out 39 assists and libero Jessica Strama had a match-best 20 digs.
The Roadrunners conclude their regular season on Saturday when they play East Division Champion Lamar (23-8, 14-1 SLC). First serve is slated for 1 p.m. at McDonald Gym.
